SOMERVILLE, Mass. - Tufts University turned a pair of Williams College turnovers into first-half touchdowns and the Jumbos defeated the Ephs 27-20 in New England Small College Athletic Conference action at Harold O. Zinman Field on Saturday.
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| Senior QB Jack Doll completed 21 of 24 passes including two for touchdowns |
Trailing 7-0, the Jumbo senior DE James Brao picked off a bobbled snap by Williams quarterback Austin Lommen and returned the ball 31 yards to knot the game a 7-7 with 4:51 remaining in the first quarter.
Williams responded with an eight-play 54 yard drive following a 20-yard kickoff return by Greg Plumb to the Ephs' 46. Lommen was 4 for 4 through the air on the drive accounting for 41 yards including a six-yard scoring strike to Darrias Sime. The point after attempt went wide left giving the Ephs a 13-7 lead with 1:25 remaining in the first.
Zack Trause returned the ensuing kickoff 42 yards to the Tufts 47, but the Jumbos had a three-and out, unable to convert on fourth and one from the Wiliams 44. On its first play from scrimmage Williams threw deep into triple coverage and Tufts' Michael DeFeo picked off Lommen at the Jumbo 36.
It took the Jumbos just seven plays to cover the 64 yards to paydirt. Sophomore QB Alex Snyder found Trause on a short pass, and Trause did the rest for a 25-yard touchdown. The big play on the drive was an 18-yard strike from senior QB Jack Doll to junior WR Jack Cooleen on third and five from the Ephs' 46. A bad snap foiled the Jumbos' point after attempt, for a 20-13 Tufts lead into the halftime break.
Tufts put the only points on the board in the third quarter with a drive that covered 80 yards in just four plays, taking 1:10 off the clock. Following a touchback of a punt, Trause ran for two yards. Doll then completed a pass to Cooleen to the Tufts 28. On third and two Trause broke off the right side for 60 yards to the Wiliams 12. Doll completed the drive on the next play with a 12-yard scoring pass to Greg Lanzillo at 10:23 of the quarter. The PAT gave the Jumbos a 27-13 lead and it would stay that way to the end of three quarters.
Tufts went primarily to a ground attack to eat up time in the fourth quarter with Trause and Chance Brady bearing the load. On the Jumbos' first possession of the stanza, Trause was dropped for a five-yard loss on a fourth and one from the Williams 20. Following a three-play series that lost five yards, Williams punted. Tufts was unable to move the ball losing two yards on third and five and was forced to punt from its own 43.
A short punt gave Williams the ball in prime field position at its own 41 with 9:25 remaining. Lommen completed five passes on the drive with the final eight yards courtesy of a Steven Kiesel reception with 5:22 remaining bringing Wiliams to within 27-20.
Tufts took the ensuing kickoff with 5:03 remaining on the clock and went back to the ground game with Brady being the workhorse. He carried six times on the drive, but the big play was a Doll to Trause pass for a nine-yard gain on third and five from the Tufts 19 to keep the drive alive. The Jumbos were forced to punt with 12 seconds remaining, but time ran out as Connor Harris returned the punt 25 yards to the Williams 38.
Tufts had a large advantage in the running game rushing for 147 yards to just 46 for the Ephs. Tufts also had a slight 262-257 yard passing advantage. The Jumbos compiled 409 yards of total offense to 303 by Williams.
Trause had a do-everything day for the Jumbos as the senior rushed for 70 yards, had 67 kickoff return yards, caught seven balls for 58 yards and two touchdowns and was 4 for 4 passing from the Wildcat formation for 27 yards. Brady racked up 71 yards on the ground and caught a pair of passes for 17 yards. Cooleen had 102 yards receiving on his four catches. Doll, the NESCAC's leading passer, was a remarkable 21 of 24 through the air for 201 yards and a pair of scoring strikes. The Jumbos were 27 of 33 through the air overall.
Lommen completed 24 of 39 attempts for 243 yards and three scores. Kiesel hauled in 10 balls for 69 yards and two of the touchdowns. Harris had a good day in the return game for the Ephs, returning four punts for 41 yards and adding 40 yards on a pair of kickoff returns.
Defensively, junior LB Matt McCormack was a stand-out with a game-high 15 tackles for Tufts. Brao added 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries to his touchdown. Both Mike Stearns and Patrick Glose had two pass break-ups in the secondary.
Williams was led by 11 tackes from James O'Grady, including 1.5 for losses. Antonio Blanco added 10 and Etienne Aduya had nine with a sack. Tom Cabarle and Elijah Eaton both intercepted passes for the Ephs, with Eaton's coming on a fake punt by Tufts.
Tufts improved to 3-2 on the season and defeated Williams for the first time since 2008. Following today's results, the Jumbos are tied for fourth in NESCAC. The Ephs dropped to 1-4.
The Jumbos travel to Amherst next Saturday for a 1:00 PM start. Williams will travel to Clinton, N.Y., next Saturday to face Hamilton College, also at 1:00.
Game Photos by Kelvin Ma / Tufts
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